How did I get past Toyota’s hiring tests at 18, and what were they looking for in me?

Well I have to say I didn’t know quite what to expect at 18 years of age when I got the call from Toyota’s Human Resources department that I was selected to take the first series of tests in the hiring process.  Little did I know at that time that the rigid process would take almost a year and a half to be considered a Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) employee TMMK was the first plant Toyota built that was solely owned and operated by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.  I was about to embark on a journey I hadn’t quite planned for, and what a life-changing path it’s been.    It is/was an honor to this day to part of “Team Toyota”!

 After reflecting back over the past 31 years Toyota’s hiring process was very hard to articulate to others, it’s something I could have never prepared for in my wildest imagination and to my knowledge has not be replicated by others at least not to that degree.  I didn’t know what the test was going to be about, so the ability to “study” wasn’t possible.  I had to rely solely upon advice from others, my personality, gut feelings, and a few other skills at the time I wasn’t aware they were looking for or knew that I had in me.  “What could be so difficult about making parts for a car”, many asked? Why all the testing? What were they looking for? Why did some people not meet the expectations and other did? Why did Toyota go to so much effort to look for specific people?

The answers to most of those questions were focused on the ability to develop the right people.  Through all the series of tests Toyota was looking for specific core competencies in people because they are renowned for their ability to “grow leaders” and respecting each person’s ability to think was their way of doing business.  That’s really the key to the successful culture so many companies try to replicate today. Their mantra was – Go see, ask why, and show respect! That’s was the essence of growing leaders.

So what are some of those core competencies you might ask? Let’s take a look at a couple of them and why they are important for any organization’s hiring process, not just Toyota’s. I am attempting to share the highlights of the hiring process I took part in as a participant going through it without all the knowledge I have today. In essence Toyota was looking at each of us and determining through these competencies could we (the workforce) be molded into leaders 1-3-5-10 years from that point. I thought it was very forward thinking of them to be testing futuristically.

1.     Problem Solving - Continuous Improvement competencies

I remember one of the specific tests were two 8 hour simulated days of work. They placed us in a mediocre work cell and gave us directions to build a specific product to certain quality standard and we had to make as many as we were able; all while being observed by several trained assessors.  I can remember it being very nerve-wrecking to be critiqued while working intensely and wondering internally, “what were they looking for, and was I doing it right?” At the end of each 2-hour segment they stopped our production to check our quality and productivity specifications, took notes and went on to ask us several questions about what we had done (they were very interested in our thinking).  They had deliberately set up the work cell in a wasteful manner and we were asked what could be improved. They noted all our suggestions and/or questions we had.  We did these iterations several times, while they were looking for our ability to see problems and make suggestions on how to improve. It was my very first exposure I suppose of someone asking my opinion in a way I felt valued or empowered to think. Little did I know that was only the beginning, this was going to be the culture I would get to experience in the future.   We implemented and they documented this process for each block of time.  I can remember hoping I could meet their expectations, I so desired to see what was on my assessor’s sheet; I was so anxious I almost ask them once but decide not to let my nerves show.

2.     Teamwork and Listening Skills

Another one of the hiring tests had to do with our ability to work as a team. I always felt I was good with people, could read them, interact and be respectful.   We were placed with other applicants in a group of 12 I believe, and were given a problem to solve together. The problem/mock scenario had to do with 10 items that were going to be added to a new vehicle and we had to agree as a team how to rate them from most important to least. How hard could that be right? I vividly remember sitting at a large round table with complete strangers and 7 assessors were looming over us taking rapid notes on everything we said, our body language, facial expressions, eye contact and tone.  I had the cognizance of mind to know if I talked too much that wasn’t good, or if I said nothing that wasn’t either. Boy this wasn’t as easy as I thought, they were really digging at the essence of our personalities. I kept telling myself this had to be about my ability to work with others and how I responded to potential adversity.   I remember several people being very overbearing and some being very quiet, the voice in my head was saying (was only an assumption) they may have been planted there to test us; I suppose I will never know, but I found a happy medium in the conversation where I found the initiative to involve the quiet people and trying to calm the overbearing ones. I practiced listening to everyone trying to grasp their ideas and paraphrase back to show understanding.  I was trying to let everyone speak to their opinion so I suppose I met their expectations perhaps, it was difficult to sense all they were looking for but I must have passed because I found myself moving onward to more challenging tests. 

3.     Initiative and Leadership

I found this test to be a little tricky to say the least, it was a written test. If I remember correctly there were about 40 questions, mostly multiple choice asking us situational type scenarios and how we would handle or what decision we would make if this “situation” took place.  Looking back at it now I can see the intent much clearer than I could at 18 years of age with almost no experience in a manufacturing type setting. I really believed they were looking forour ability to show a specific level of leadership and initiative that they would be able to foster and develop further in time.    A couple of the questions dealt with employee problems and how we would handle the situation, some were related to quality issues, productivity and cost.  A couple of the questions even touched out our integrity as a person and how we may handle sensitive situations. They were attempting to cover all the bases in regard to our personal initiatives and leadership capabilities. I found myself second guessing my answers because I was over analyzing each question in fear of selecting the wrong answer.  I began to feel I was being funneled down to a select few to be hired at this stage and I was so eager to be a part of Team Toyota, even within the hiring process you felt in the atmosphere that this wasn’t any ordinary company. I had an internal crave to pass these tests and be a part of this unique opportunity, what a rush! I now see why there were 150,000 people applying for 1500 jobs.  Reflecting back now I’m amazed at the odds of being funneled down and moving closer and closer to the next gate. This was really happening!

The last test I believe was developed to assess all the competencies combined as a way to give you a final in a sense; at least that was how I evaluated it.  This was a written simulation that we (role-played); we were given a role of mock managers who were in charge of a company producing lawnmowers, the company had specific issues with productivity and quality. On the first round we were given a little background information on the company then we had 15 minutes to come up with questions that we could ask the company President (role played by assessor). We were given 2 minutes to ask questions and they would give us further information. This process went on for 3 rounds and they documented what types of questions that we asked based on the information we were given.  I really felt this was one of the most difficult tests because it challenged me to think about problem solving, teamwork, business need, processes, and leadership capabilities and at my age I didn’t have a lot of experience in these areas. I had to admit I wasn’t as confident after finishing that one, but to my surprise I was called a few months later for an interview at the plant, words couldn’t describe what I felt when I heard the words from their mouth. I had passed it! I had done an uncomprehendable task of meeting their very high expectations! I was speechless; all that was left was to get past the interview. The rest folk is history, I will forever be a part of “Team Toyota” in my heart; and will never stop spreading the good word it’s in my DNA now. It’s my job to place it in yours!

In closing I hope this is helpful in understanding a piece of the infrastructure that was necessary to create this culture or atmosphere we worked in. I reiterate again they were very selective who would be part of the team because they were looking from 1 to, 3 to, 5, even 10 years ahead in growing these first level team members to their future leaders and continue that process to now their current workforce of 8000+ workers at TMMK which now runs 4 different models including the Lexus ES300.  The competencies were critical in our beginning stages as we were shadowed by Japanese trainers for 3-5 years in certain areas. It was a priceless experience for me to be part of something so exclusive and ground-breaking I’ve never lost that distinctive feeling to say, “yes, I was a part of that and it’s made me the instructor I am today, what an opportunity, I was blessed!” Now it’s my role to share it with others like you!

Tracey Richardson

TheToyotaEE.com